The air around them became intensely dry!
The two hanba, their bodies fiery red but without any fur, unleashed their full power!
They scorched the surrounding air, evaporating all moisture, making it unbearably hot and dry, causing the air to feel acrid and suffocating.
The hanba moved with incredible speed, possessing the ability to fly and burrow. They transformed into red shadows, sometimes attacking from the ground and sometimes darting through the air in unpredictable curves. Their sharp claws, radiating intense yellow-red energy, constantly struck at Mr. Wang. Each strike hit the golden chain shield of characters surrounding him, causing sharp, screeching sounds like metal grinding against metal, accompanied by sparks flying everywhere.
The Bone King, on the other hand, launched a frontal assault on Mr. Wang, clashing directly with his ruler-shaped magical treasure.
Although the Bone King wasn't as strong as Mr. Wang and was repeatedly knocked back by the ruler, carving long furrows into the shattered ground of the Haoran Academy, it remained relentless, returning to attack again and again, vexing Mr. Wang.
Meanwhile, the three late-stage Core Formation spirit beasts—the Golden Eagle, Furious Serpent, and Green Cicada—waited for an opening.
The White Tiger King, at the early Nascent Soul stage, let out continuous roars, seizing moments between the hanba and Bone King's attacks to pounce from the side, aiming to land sneak attacks on Mr. Wang.
The Golden Eagle would occasionally dive from the sky, transforming into a golden streak of light, attempting to strike the back of Mr. Wang's head, while the Furious Serpent slithered nearby, flicking its tongue, waiting for the golden chain shield to weaken before lunging at Mr. Wang, coiling tightly around him.
Though it couldn't strangle Mr. Wang to death, it…
…it effectively limited his movement!
The Green Cicada, with a piercing buzz that made one's head spin, dashed toward Mr. Wang like a bullet, gnawing at the golden chains surrounding him.
"Damn it!"
As the strongest cultivator of Haoran Academy, Mr. Wang wasn't in any immediate danger from these attacks, but they were enough to severely irritate him!
What troubled him even more was that Zhuang Zhentian hadn't yet revealed his true trump card!
...
As the leader of the Demon Sect, Zhuang Zhentian didn't rely on external entities like the disciples of the beast taming and corpse controlling factions.
His greatest strengths were his stealth and assassination techniques!
"To think, after a short time, he's even mastered swordsmanship!"
Mr. Wang ground his teeth in frustration: The seven great sects, except for Xuantian Sect which taught a variety of techniques, were rather singular in their cultivation methods. However, this Demon Sect leader was adept in so many different arts—beast taming, corpse control, stealth, assassination, and even arrays and spells. Now, he had also mastered swordsmanship, making him a nemesis for all righteous cultivators!
"No more waiting! If I don't act now, I may not have another chance!"
With this thought, Mr. Wang formed a hand seal!
The treasure he had been relying on—the book-like Heavenly Scripture Treasure, which had only been unleashing golden chain characters—suddenly flared with brilliance!
The pages flipped!
Golden figures, clad in armor or holding books and rulers, flew out from the Heavenly Scripture Treasure and confronted Zhuang Zhentian's two hanba, the Bone King, and the White Tiger King.
At the same time…
Mr. Wang's Nascent Soul shook violently within him!
The Furious Serpent coiled around him was instantly blasted away, its body torn apart, spurting blood as it was thrown through the air!
The golden chain shield switched from defense to offense, attacking the Golden Eagle and killing the Green Cicada in the process!
"Oh?"
Zhuang Zhentian noticed the death of his hard-raised late-stage Core Formation cicada beast but didn't seem bothered. Instead, he smiled with interest and said, "So you've finally decided to use your famous Heavenly Soldiers summoned from your Heavenly Scripture Treasure?"
"But your Heavenly Soldiers consume a lot of energy. Meanwhile, my subordinates fight without draining my energy."
"Let's see how long you can hold out!"
Zhuang Zhentian continued observing the battle, waiting for the right moment. After a period of time, his two hanba, the Bone King, White Tiger King, Furious Serpent, and Golden Eagle were all covered in wounds.
Then, he noticed…
Mr. Wang's golden chain shield and the radiance of his Heavenly Soldiers were beginning to dim.
"Haha! He's running out of energy!"
Realizing this, Zhuang Zhentian left behind a shadow, while his real body sank into the ground…
"Pa!"
Mr. Wang seized an opportunity and, with his ruler, finally killed the heavily injured Furious Serpent!
But at that exact moment…
The Zhuang Zhentian he had been watching drew his sword!
Mr. Wang, now fully alert, prepared to defend himself, thinking, "He's finally going to make his move?"
However, as that Zhuang Zhentian charged forward, releasing a burst of intense red energy, forcing Mr. Wang to hastily form his golden chain shield into a barrier in front of him…
…that Zhuang Zhentian suddenly exploded into a cloud of black mist!
"What?! It's a trick!"
Mr. Wang cried out in alarm.
At that moment, the ground beneath him burst open!
The real Zhuang Zhentian, like a shadowy demon, emerged from the ground and drove Ye Fan, the demon sword, deep into Mr. Wang's back!
Squelch!
[Killed Haoran Academy's strongest cultivator, Nascent Soul eighth-layer elder Mr. Wang, gained 897,861 evolution points]
[Absorbed the essence blood of Haoran Academy's strongest cultivator, Nascent Soul eighth-layer elder Mr. Wang, gained 87,777 energy points]
"Eighty-nine hundred thousand evolution points!"
Ye Fan's spirit was invigorated. "This Mr. Wang was truly formidable, able to hold his own against Zhuang Zhentian for this long!"
"If it weren't for Zhuang Zhentian having me, and his power increasing so dramatically, Mr. Wang might have been able to hold his own, or even defeat him with the help of other cultivators!"
"What a pity. Such a righteous man, killed unjustly by Zhuang Zhentian, only to become my evolution points."
Zhuang Zhentian, too, was satisfied to discover that after driving the demon sword into Mr. Wang's back, the elder had completely lost all signs of life.
Upon further inspection, he also found that Mr. Wang's Nascent Soul, like Mr. Liu's, had vanished without a trace, "It seems this sword has devoured it as well!"
Zhuang Zhentian then recalled his two hanba, the Bone King, White Tiger King, Furious Serpent, and Golden Eagle back into his beast pouches and corpse storage bag to allow them to heal.
At the same time, a surge of pure energy began flowing from Ye Fan's hilt into Zhuang Zhentian's body!
His previously depleted spiritual power quickly recovered!
And not only did it recover—his cultivation advanced further!
"Before I came to Haoran Academy, my cultivation was at the peak of the eighth layer of the Nascent Soul stage."
"Now, with the feedback energy still coming in, I'm already stabilized at the ninth layer!"
After surveying the desolate ruins of Haoran Academy, now completely devoid of life, Zhuang Zhentian sneered.
"Hmph! Even if there are survivors, they wouldn't dare come near me!"
Zhuang Zhentian then sat down cross-legged, beginning to refine the energy Ye Fan had returned to him. "Strike while the iron's hot. This time, I hope to make significant gains!"